292 research outputs found
Novel Method for Analyzing Crack Growth in Polymeric Microtensile Specimens by In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy
In this paper a micro tensile test which allows the determination and observation of the crack growth behaviour in thin polymer layers is presented. The setup consists of micromanipulators and piezo actuators for straining the sample while an atomic force microscope (AFM) is used for scanning the crack tip area with high lateral resolution. The stress in the specimen is determined by an optical microscope for observation of the deflection of a force sensing beam. The material under investigation is an amorphous and strongly entangled thermoplastic polyimide which can be patterned photolithographically and is spin cast to form layers of 3μm thickness. The results show the potential of the setup to measure crack length, crack tip opening and nominal stress. The stress-crack length-diagram then allows to determine different stages during crack growt
Extremely high magnetoresistance and conductivity in the type-II Weyl semimetals WP2 and MoP2
The peculiar band structure of semimetals exhibiting Dirac and Weyl crossings
can lead to spectacular electronic properties such as large mobilities
accompanied by extremely high magnetoresistance. In particular, two closely
neighbouring Weyl points of the same chirality are protected from annihilation
by structural distortions or defects, thereby significantly reducing the
scattering probability between them. Here we present the electronic properties
of the transition metal diphosphides, WP2 and MoP2, that are type-II Weyl
semimetals with robust Weyl points. We present transport and angle resolved
photoemission spectroscopy measurements, and first principles calculations. Our
single crystals of WP2 display an extremely low residual low-temperature
resistivity of 3 nohm-cm accompanied by an enormous and highly anisotropic
magnetoresistance above 200 million % at 63 T and 2.5 K. These properties are
likely a consequence of the novel Weyl fermions expressed in this compound. We
observe a large suppression of charge carrier backscattering in WP2 from
transport measurements.Comment: Appeared in Nature Communication
Blocking of the B7-CD28 pathway increases the capacity of FasL<sup>+</sup> (CD95L<sup>+</sup>) dendritic cells to kill alloactivated T cells
The pancreas responds to remote damage and systemic stress by secretion of the pancreatic secretory proteins PSP/regI and PAP/regIII.
In patients with infection and sepsis serum levels of Pancreatic Stone protein/regenerating protein I (PSP) are highly elevated. The origin of PSP during these conditions is presumably the pancreas, however, an intestinal origin cannot be excluded. Similarly, pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) was identified in the pancreas. These proteins were also localized in intestinal organs. Here we aim to elucidate the bio-distribution of PSP and PAP in animal models of sepsis and in healthy humans.
PSP and PAP responded to remote lesions in rats although the pancreatic response was much more pronounced than the intestinal. Tissue distribution of PSP demonstrated a 100-fold higher content in the pancreas compared to any other organ while PAP was most abundant in the small intestine. Both proteins responded to CLP or sham operation in the pancreas. PSP also increased in the intestine during CLP. The distribution of PSP and PAP in human tissue mirrored the distribution in the murine models.
Distribution of PSP and PAP was visualized by immunohistochemistry. Rats and mice underwent midline laparotomies followed by mobilization of tissue and incision of the pancreatic duct or duodenum. Standard cecum-ligation-puncture (CLP) procedures or sham laparotomies were performed. Human tissue extracts were analyzed for PSP and PAP.
The pancreas reacts to remote lesions and septic insults in mice and rats with increased PSP synthesis, while PAP is selectively responsive to septic events. Furthermore, our results suggest that serum PSP in septic patients is predominantly derived through an acute phase response of the pancreas
NSCG-Kommission 'Curriculum Chemie': Eine Bestandesaufnahme über Studium, Promotion und Berufsaussichten junger Chemikerinnen und Chemiker von 1992–1996 (Statistischer Teil)
Cavity-enhanced high harmonic generation for XUV time-resolved ARPES
With its direct correspondence to electronic structure, angle-resolved
photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is a ubiquitous tool for the study of
solids. When extended to the temporal domain, time-resolved (TR)-ARPES offers
the potential to move beyond equilibrium properties, exploring both the
unoccupied electronic structure as well as its dynamical response under
ultrafast perturbation. Historically, ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV)
sources employing high-order harmonic generation (HHG) have required
compromises that make it challenging to achieve a high energy resolution -
which is highly desirable for many TR-ARPES studies - while producing high
photon energies and a high photon flux. We address this challenge by performing
HHG inside a femtosecond enhancement cavity (fsEC), realizing a practical
source for TR-ARPES that achieves a flux of over 10 photons/s delivered
to the sample, operates over a range of 8-40 eV with a repetition rate of 60
MHz. This source enables TR-ARPES studies with a temporal and energy resolution
of 190 fs and 22 meV, respectively. To characterize the system, we perform
ARPES measurements of polycrystalline Au and MoTe, as well as TR-ARPES
studies on graphite.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Somatostatin subtype-2 receptor-targeted metal-based anticancer complexes
Conjugates of a dicarba analogue of octreotide, a potent somatostatin agonist whose receptors are overexpressed on tumor cells, with [PtCl 2(dap)] (dap = 1-(carboxylic acid)-1,2-diaminoethane) (3), [(η 6-bip)Os(4-CO 2-pico)Cl] (bip = biphenyl, pico = picolinate) (4), [(η 6-p-cym)RuCl(dap)] + (p-cym = p-cymene) (5), and [(η 6-p-cym)RuCl(imidazole-CO 2H)(PPh 3)] + (6), were synthesized by using a solid-phase approach. Conjugates 3-5 readily underwent hydrolysis and DNA binding, whereas conjugate 6 was inert to ligand substitution. NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations showed that conjugate formation does not perturb the overall peptide structure. Only 6 exhibited antiproliferative activity in human tumor cells (IC 50 = 63 ± 2 μ in MCF-7 cells and IC 50 = 26 ± 3 μ in DU-145 cells) with active participation of somatostatin receptors in cellular uptake. Similar cytotoxic activity was found in a normal cell line (IC 50 = 45 ± 2.6 μ in CHO cells), which can be attributed to a similar level of expression of somatostatin subtype-2 receptor. These studies provide new insights into the effect of receptor-binding peptide conjugation on the activity of metal-based anticancer drugs, and demonstrate the potential of such hybrid compounds to target tumor cells specifically. © 2012 American Chemical Society
Tick-borne encephalitis virus in dogs - is this an issue?
The last review on Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in dogs was published almost ten years ago. Since then, this zoonotic tick-borne arbovirus has been geographically spreading and emerging in many regions in Eurasia and continues to do so. Dogs become readily infected with TBE virus but they are accidental hosts not capable to further spread the virus. They seroconvert upon infection but they seem to be much more resistant to the clinical disease than humans. Apart from their use as sentinels in endemic areas, however, an increasing number of case reports appeared during the last decade thus mirroring the rising public health concerns. Owing to the increased mobility of people travelling to endemic areas with their companion dogs, this consequently leads to problems in recognizing and diagnosing this severe infection in a yet non-endemic area, simply because the veterinarians are not considering TBE. This situation warrants an update on the epidemiology, clinical presentation and possible preventions of TBE in the dog
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